Limited hop circulation during boil

[therishel]

I just put my first brew in the fermenter. What I hope will be a nice Cream Stout using the extract kit from Midwest Supplies (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/cream-stout.html). I am fermenting it in a Mr. Beer fermenter, so I cut everything in half. I wanted some kind of strainer for the hops but didn't have a mesh bag handy, so I used a "tea ball". If you're not familiar with this device, it is a screen ball that hinges open and latches closed. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but it wasn't. The hop pellets swelled into a solid sphere of hops inside the tea ball. I didn't discover this until I took the tea ball out after the boil. Now I am concerned that the hops did not get properly integrated into the wort. I went ahead an put it into the fermenter and am hoping for the best.

Any advice or suggestions at this point?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[BrewWNC]

Hops in the fermenter is normal.

It's good to separate the trub (hops, etc.) from boiling kettle to fermentor in some opinions. Others transfer everything. Whether it matters is still debatable.

After all, most of it all falls out post fermentation.

 

[BrewWNC]

It's late missed what you were asking.

When you opened the hop sphere, were all the hops wet? I'd bet the were and you are fine. Plus, it's not a hoppy beer anyway.

 

[jfk69]

I'm sure it will be fine. As mentioned, folks seem pretty split on whether they add the hops trub to the fermenter or not. I strain mine and get good beer, others don't and get good beer. The hop pellets wouldn't have swelled like that if they didn't have contact with the wort, so you should be good to go. RDWAHAHB!

 

[therishel]

Thanks for the replies. It's in the fermenter now, so we'll see what happens. I'll try to remember to post back here when I have results.

 

[JohnSand]

Not trying to worry you, but you probably did not get enough hops. I have made the same mistake, with the same results. I have also corrected it with hop tea, or a little very hoppy wort.